Creative activity (isn't) the icing on the cake. Human creativity is the cake." (Jerry Hirsch) The Creative Writing course is for the student wanting to master higher levels of a variety writing genres. All written works will be kept in a writing folder to use as material for the final outcome of putting together a creative writing portfolio. The following are suggested texts and resources:
Text: Creative Writing: Forms and Techniques; National Textbook Company.
Additional Resources: Look, Think & Write: Using Pictures to Stimulate Thinking and Improving Writing; Day Leavitt, Hart; Sohn, David A.; National Textbook Company, 1996.
Writing Process Activities Kit; Brandvik, Mary Lou; Center for Applied Research in Education; Simon & Schuster, 1990. (Teacher resource only, not for class set)
An outline of the nine essential units, selective units and suggested materials follows:
Dramatic Arts The Secondary Dramatic Arts I course is a Fine Art elective. The course possesses two dimensions for the students; a series of units advancing the development of dramatic acting, and a series of units designed to assist in creating a theatrical product. Students will work diligently during the first six units to develop their skills as actors, thereafter apply those skills to a school or class production. Process and product are the two key components of the course. The course will introduce various facets of theatre including acting, production and postproduction work within a set of essential and selective units. The main focus, though, is on the methods and general practice of the dramatic arts. All students who elect to take this class must be aware that they will participate in a class or school performance; either onstage or backstage, with preproduction, production and possibly postproduction involvement. This course emphasizes class participation, group interaction, and cooperative decision-making toward the established course outline. A number of individual and group assignments will be required of each student in order to evaluate various units. Since most units will be judged by the strength and development of student performance, a rubric will be provided specific to each unit for evaluation of student performance. Though development acting skills is the main intent of the class, as the year progresses some students may elect to pursue production units after completing the core set of essential drama units. This will permit the development of acting skills for all students, yet allow students to incorporate what they have learned to a broader set of theater skills. Secondary Dramatic Arts I is divided into six essential units and a number of selective units. The first six units are designed to teach the students the basics of acting. Improvisation, movement, character study and selecting and performing a monologue and dialogue are skills the students will be building during this time. Instructors must consider each student individually upon assessment; remembering that students coming from diverse backgrounds and cultures will most likely possesses differing levels of acting skills and potential. A set of resources will be provided to each class; however, no class set of texts will be necessary. Dramatic Arts I is meant to be a Workshop-style course. Acting activities and productions goals are the aim of the course; therefore a practicum approach is best. The students must be active and constantly applying skills. An outline of the units follows. Some of these units are prerequisites for following units. The first unit is ongoing. It is essential that students are made aware of the fact that their day-to-day actions are important and will determine their grade for the first unit. It is possible to rearrange the order of some of these units, but the six essential units are best if done in their order.
Essential Units: (The students must complete all six essential units):
E01 - Acting Exercises(open in the beginning of the year and keep open until the beginning of the theatrical production.) E02 -Improvisation (open in the beginning of the year and keep open until the beginning of the theatrical production.) E03 - Movement E04 - Monologue Dialogue E05 - Character Study E06 - Technical Theatre(preparation for production)
Selective Units: (four units must be picked from this menu of selective units for completion of Dramatic Arts I):
The Creative Writing course is for the student wanting to master higher levels of a variety writing genres. All written works will be kept in a writing folder to use as material for the final outcome of putting together a creative writing portfolio. The following are suggested texts and resources:
Text:
Creative Writing: Forms and Techniques; National Textbook Company.
Additional Resources:
Look, Think & Write: Using Pictures to Stimulate Thinking and Improving Writing; Day Leavitt, Hart; Sohn, David A.; National Textbook Company, 1996.
Writing Process Activities Kit; Brandvik, Mary Lou; Center for Applied Research in Education; Simon & Schuster, 1990. (Teacher resource only, not for class set)
An outline of the nine essential units, selective units and suggested materials follows:
E01 Descriptive Writing (People & Places)
E02 Characterization
E03 Prose
E04 Poetry
E05 Play Writing
E06 Commercial Creative Writing (Greeting cards, Advertising, etc.)
E07 Memoir
E08 Children’s story
E09 Creative Writing Portfolio
SELECTIVES:
S01 Publishing
S02 Fables and Myths
S03 Dialogue
S04 Literary magazine
Dramatic Arts
The Secondary Dramatic Arts I course is a Fine Art elective. The course possesses two dimensions for the students; a series of units advancing the development of dramatic acting, and a series of units designed to assist in creating a theatrical product. Students will work diligently during the first six units to develop their skills as actors, thereafter apply those skills to a school or class production. Process and product are the two key components of the course.
The course will introduce various facets of theatre including acting, production and postproduction work within a set of essential and selective units. The main focus, though, is on the methods and general practice of the dramatic arts. All students who elect to take this class must be aware that they will participate in a class or school performance; either onstage or backstage, with preproduction, production and possibly postproduction involvement.
This course emphasizes class participation, group interaction, and cooperative decision-making toward the established course outline. A number of individual and group assignments will be required of each student in order to evaluate various units. Since most units will be judged by the strength and development of student performance, a rubric will be provided specific to each unit for evaluation of student performance. Though development acting skills is the main intent of the class, as the year progresses some students may elect to pursue production units after completing the core set of essential drama units. This will permit the development of acting skills for all students, yet allow students to incorporate what they have learned to a broader set of theater skills.
Secondary Dramatic Arts I is divided into six essential units and a number of selective units. The first six units are designed to teach the students the basics of acting. Improvisation, movement, character study and selecting and performing a monologue and dialogue are skills the students will be building during this time. Instructors must consider each student individually upon assessment; remembering that students coming from diverse backgrounds and cultures will most likely possesses differing levels of acting skills and potential.
A set of resources will be provided to each class; however, no class set of texts will be necessary. Dramatic Arts I is meant to be a Workshop-style course. Acting activities and productions goals are the aim of the course; therefore a practicum approach is best. The students must be active and constantly applying skills.
An outline of the units follows. Some of these units are prerequisites for following units. The first unit is ongoing. It is essential that students are made aware of the fact that their day-to-day actions are important and will determine their grade for the first unit. It is possible to rearrange the order of some of these units, but the six essential units are best if done in their order.
Essential Units: (The students must complete all six essential units):
E01 - Acting Exercises(open in the beginning of the year and keep open until the beginning of the theatrical production.)
E02 -Improvisation (open in the beginning of the year and keep open until the beginning of the theatrical production.)
E03 - Movement
E04 - Monologue Dialogue
E05 - Character Study
E06 - Technical Theatre(preparation for production)
Selective Units: (four units must be picked from this menu of selective units for completion of Dramatic Arts I):
S01 - Audition
S02 - Rehearsal
S03 - Production
S04 – Stage Management
S05 - Scene Design
S06 - Costume Design
S07 - Property Descign
S08 - Light Design
S09 - Sound Design
S10 - Masks/Makeup
S11 - One-Act Play
S12 - Portfolio